Chapter 10: Integrating Technology Through Community-Based Design

Although universities have traditionally seen themselves as autonomous entities, shaped by principles and protected by academic freedom rather than bound to serve the state, the developments of the last few decades have challenged this position. The rise of managerialism and public accountability, the perception of higher education as a market and students as consumers, together with tighter contracts between institutions and the state (either through funding or legislation) have all served to challenge academics’ belief that they should be able to teach what they want and how they want (Barnett, 1994; Henkel, 2000). Increasingly, pedagogy has become a matter of policy and politics, rather than professionalism (Holley & Oliver, 2000).